Martin Biron: Might he Return to the Sabres?

If you go back 2.5 years to the 2006-07 NHL season, you would see Martin Biron in a Buffalo Sabres jersey as a back up goaltender behind Ryan Miller. Everyone knew that he was disappointed at not being a starting goalie in the NHL but nobody really took anything from it. People just said that was just Marty being Marty and that he'd just get over it and then get back to his old chirpy self. Marty eventually settled into his role as a back-up and then began to strive at it becoming one of the top back-ups in the entire NHL. At the same time, the Buffalo Sabres were on the top of the NHL standings and dominating teams. But that all changed on February 27, 2007 when Martin Biron was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Ty Conklin.

After that trade, the Sabres were a different team. Their soul was gone. While they still finished with a strong season, something was missing from them. They weren't as loose and they didn't have a credible back-up goalie anymore. Ty Conklin finished the year before leaving and then the Sabres brought in Jocelyn Thibault for the back-up position. The move looked good at first but became a colossal failure when Thibault stunk it up with his play. Then last year, the Sabres gave Patrick Lalime a two year contract to become the backup. Again, this move mirrored the move of signing Jocelyn Thibault. Both were veterans past their prime and didn't have as much to give. Lalime is now currently injured and Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff doesn't have enough confidence when he is healthy to play him anyway. This has caused Ryan Miller to be overplayed and tire as the season winds on.

This is where Martin Biron comes in. Biron is currently playing for the New York Islanders splitting the starting duties with Dwayne Roloson. They are currently on a rotation. The problem for the Islanders will start near the end of November. That is when Rick Dipietro returns back to the Islanders. That will then put the Islanders at three quality NHL goalies. The Islanders can't manage to keep all of them so one must leave. The logical choice is Biron. Biron has a small contract of 1 year for 1.4 million dollars so he will be easy to trade to other teams. No one will take DiPietro because of his massive contract and no one will take Roloson because he is up there in age. Speculation around the NHL says that Biron will be gone before New Years. But the question is where.

This is where the Sabres come in. The Sabres were in talks with Biron over the summer about him becoming the back-up for the Sabres again but Biron ultimately said no because he wanted to get more playing time in hopes to get a starting gig in 2010. But now with Biron on the market, the Sabres are one of the favorites for getting Biron. He would solidify the Sabres back-up goalie situation and give Miller some rest. And then the Sabres could afford to cut Lalime and send rookie goalie Enroth back to the minors. The move wouldn't be that bad for Biron either. He has a summer home in Clearance, New York and says he wouldn't mind living there full time. Biron also has a wife from Buffalo and has a lot of friends that live there. Plus, he would reunite with many former teammates.

So is Biron going to join the Sabres again? No one quite knows yet. But be on the look out. One thing for sure is that the Sabres are definitely interested in getting him if they can get him at the right price and the Islanders are definitely going to try to trade him. So he could be in Buffalo before you know it. And if that does happen, he could return that chirpiness and soul back to the Sabres and the city of Buffalo which have been missing it without him.